Noise Complaint

Here is more information about the types of noise complaints we can investigate.

Please Note: Mole Valley District Council (MVDC) does not operate an Out of Hours service for noise nuisance. If you contact MVDC out of hours, your details will be taken and the complaint will be sent to the Environmental Health team the next working day.

Resolving Noise Problems

It is often better to try to resolve problems by speaking to the person who is causing the noise disturbance, if this is possible without putting your safety at risk. Bringing MVDC into the dispute could inflame the situation, rather than resolve it.

Car alarms

MVDC may have the ability to silence on-going car alarms in the street causing a nuisance.

When an alarm is reported, MVDC will make attempts, within reason, to find the person responsible for the vehicle.

An abatement notice will be attached to the car while investigations are happening, giving the owner of the vehicle one hour to silence the alarm. If the alarm still sounds after one hour, MVDC can authorise works necessary to silence the noise nuisance, either by gaining access to the car or by removing it to a secure location.

If you wish to make a complaint, please call 01306 885001 or if you are calling out of hours call 01372 376533 (office hours are 8.30am to 5pm).

Burglar alarms

On hearing a security alarm please first contact the police, if it is possible there may have been a break in.

If there is no evidence of a break-in and the alarm continues to sound in excess of 20 minutes or continues to misfire, you can report it to MVDC. Please call 01306 885001 or if you are calling out of hours, 01372 376533.

Building/demolition work nuisance (Excludes domestic/short term DIY)

Advice for Site/Builders

Informing the council and your neighbours:

give the local authority six weeks notice before start of works. Conditions may be set about how or when the work should be done

send a letter to neighbours before work commences which outlines any potential disruption, providing a contact name and telephone number for someone on site

inform the council of contact details for somebody on site who can be contacted 24/7 so any complaints may be resolved informally

please deal promptly with any complaints received on site

Dust

Keep dust down by spraying with water when and where you can. For more information please visit the Air and Water Quality page.

Noise

While there is no law as such on noise nuisance from building sites, MVDC has the following recommended code of conduct.

No noise should be heard from the site outside the following hours:

Saturday: 8am to 2pm

Sunday and Bank Holidays: Nil

Weekdays: 7.30am to 6pm

If you wish to work outside these hours on a construction site you will need to liaise with the Environmental Health department. Please contact them by phone, on 01306 885001.

General Noise Nuisance

It is not an offence to create noise. However if MVDC finds something to be a statutory noise nuisance they can serve an abatement notice to the source, which would then be an offence not to control that noise. There is no simple definition of what constitutes a statutory noise nuisance but Local Authorities are empowered to act to control statutory nuisances. For the noise to amount to a statutory nuisance it must be prejudicial to health or a nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 [Section 79(1) (g)]. This could depend on how loud the noise is, the duration of the noise and the frequency in which it occurs.

If you are concerned about on-going noise from a neighbour's home, or local business/factory, or noise from vehicles and equipment in the street, MVDC would advise that where possible you approach those making a noise in the first instance. Often they will be unaware that they are disturbing you.

If the noise persists after you have spoken to the source you canreport it to us. You may also call the Customer Services Unit on 01306 885001 to log a complaint or email env.health@molevalley.gov.uk.

If you are calling out of hours please contact 01372 376533. Please be advised you will be required to disclose your address and also the address of the source of the noise in order to proceed. Environmental Health cannot act on anonymous calls.

You may be required to fill in log sheets for evidence, recording how the noise is affecting you.